My friends 8 year old cat is OBESE. He is fed .5 cup of food daily. What could the problem be?

Question

She doesnt want to take him to the vet in fear that he would have a heart attack w. the car ride. Anyone have any hoilistic approaches?

Answer 1

Please read Rune's post carefully and use some of the links given. The article on "Feline Obesity" by Dr. Hovfe will clue your friend into how to handle the obesity. There is also a lot of information about obesity and proper cat diet at www.thepetcenter.com.

Exercise and dieting are not the way to go with cats. Cats are meant to eat MEAT and not cereal and when they are fed an appropriate diet of wholesome meat they are NEVER overweight.

Any old canned food won't do it either - use the best, Natural Balance, Blue, Lick Your Chops, Avoderm, Wellness, Felidae, etc. and don't use just ONE of these. My cats eat all of these canned foods - something different at every serving.

An obese cat must lose weight gradually so don't expect him to trim down in two months. When you cut out that fattening carbohydrate from his diet he will immediately stop GAINING and you are ahead right there.

It is cruel to "punish" an overweight cat by reducing the amount of his inappropriate food. With good quality meat (not Whiskas, Friskies, Fancy Feast or Science Diet which all use by-product meat) he will be well satisfied and lose weight the right way.

Answer 2

Choose a low-calorie food. But I am thinking there might be some other problem causing the weight gain: That doesn't sound like too much.

Now, when we last took our cats to the vet, he described to us a toy that you can put dry food into. And the cat can play with it, and eat the kibbles as they come out of a small hole at one of the ends. That way the kitty will get both exercise and food.

The odds are actually against your friend's cat having a heart attack in the car, unless he is somehow traumatized on the way. If he has to go, make sure the carrier has been made comfortable with something like old towels or rags, or an old shirt of some kind.

Good luck!

Answer 3

The question said .5 cup of food daily. That is 1/2 of a cup. A 1/2 cup of food is not a bad thing, but you should make sure that there is no dry food out for the cat to eat in addition to that. Or cut the food down to 1/4 cup of canned food and leave some dry food out, but a controlled amount. Get the cat active, play with him (laser pointers seem to work for even the most lazy and unplayful cats) to get him to burn some of that fat off. And if the cat can't be taken to the vet, ask the vet to make a house call. Vets still do that these days.

Answer 4

Half a cup a day doesn't seem much even if the cat has limited physical activity. Cats are like people food seems to "profit" more to some.

I think your friend should try and check with the vet of course!

but try at home a change of diet first. it may help:

Give access to fresh herbs (packs available from all good pet shops).

Leave the dry food alone and for a month only give a small portion of boiled fish (it's some work, but just buy it frozen, leave it in a pan of boiling water, scoop out, leave to cool, serve). This is not complete food, but the cats usually like it and it's only for a "rehab" period.
Every other day serve a pouch of light wet food instead. Half of it at a time.

I hope the slimming program works... Some cats are big, like more than 10 kg, I think he IS big - or you're mistaken my Dear, and you're friends cat is in fact a small lion :-)

Answer 5

Although a thyroid problem is possible, I've heard that it's unlikely.

The most common cause for obesity in cats is eating too much and/or eating the wrong food.

Although not every cat is affected the same way, DRY FOOD (kibble) is very high in carbs and very low in the things that cats, who are obligate carnivores, need to eat - namely meat as a source of protein, and fat.

It's next to impossible to get a cat to lose weight eating dry food - and if you get the diet or "lite" food, you're making the problem worse, because for some unknown reason, they lower the protein and jack up the carbs!

The best way to get a cat to lose weight is to change their diet to a good quality canned food.

This is what I'm doing to get my 25 pounder to lose weight. I converted her to Natural Balance Venison & Green Pea back in October. I don't know how much she's lost, but she definitely has.

AND the best thing is that neither of us have suffered. When I first tried reducing her intake of kibble, we were both miserable. She was starving and I was being pestered. With the canned food, I'm able to give her a full can per day (5.5 to 6 oz) so she's satisfied, and doesn't keep bugging me!

Here are some very good articles on cat nutrition, obesity and diets for cats, and a list of very good quality canned foods.

None of which are on the recall list.

Answer 6

I also have an 8 yo obese cat. My vet wants her to lose weight, of course, but always warns me about the danger of rapid weight loss. any diet change should be gradual. My sweet fatty once got stuck in the foundation of our house ( long story) and we had two choices - demolish one room of the house, which may have resulted in crushing her, or slimming her down until she could get out. That vet was on the phone with us hourly, controling every bite of food she got ( he insisted she not go liquids only) until she got free, 3 days later.

And yes, pigging out is not the only cause of obesity. That is an urban myth! I agree that an endrocine workout ( including but not just thyroid) is in order. Obesity is also self perpetuating ( read up on diabetes) once you develope autoimmune disorders weight problems are almost impossible to completely control.

Just to give you an idea of how complex the weight issue can be, here is how it is with our cat. Many obese humans have comparable obstacles, so perhaps this will help some readers to have a heart: When I got Rose and her brother from rescue facility, they had been kept in a bathroom with little human contact or food for 6 weeks. They also had FIP. Bud soon died, but Rose survived, despite the fact that FIP is supposely 100% fatal. Between the FIP and the meds to combat it, her stomach lining was permanently damaged and became very sensitive. She is in pain if her stomach is empty, and cries and licks her stomach raw, and that bald tummy means she's also getting hairballs. We give her yogurt, which helps, but 8 years of trying other things has not helped. Normal catfood makes her vomit and the sort made for overweight cats gives her *extreme* constipation. She eats regular cat food, but in little nibbles all day, as a 'meal' sized portion is vomited with in seconds. She has an obsession with oil, and likes to sneak into our cupboards and lick the oil residue off cans of cooking oils. Perhaps they help her stomach? She combs the kitchen for any dropped food too. That is her favorite way to eat, and yes, I do have kids, so there is no making sure that never happens. She does not get much food this way, but with anyone who gains weight easily, every bite counts..

It gets even better. We also have an underweight 16 yo cat with thyroid problems. She needs all the food she will eat, and she eats a lot - several times what the obese one eats. We need to leave food out for her. I almost never see Rose eat it though, so I really don't think the food in the dish is the problem.

The older cat has always been active, but Rose never has, and refuses to begin. 6 weeks locked in a bathroom and then 2 months recovering from a deadly illness does not make for an active cat. She loves spectator sports, but other than wrestling with us, which has it's own limitations, she's not about to exert herself. As if that were not enough, she is a stocky breed to begin with, and gains weight easily. Oh, and she is a worrier - when any one of us is out of the house for longer than expected, she sits by the door, or follows me around crying about it. Anxiety and weight are sometimes related, so this may be a factor, too.

With Rose, I try to seek a balance between an early death from stress and an early death from obesity. Ironically, I recently sampled several brands of food, trying to find a low fat one she could handle. It was a nightmare of vomiting and constipation and I went back to the tried and true 'junky' purina brands she has always tolerated - Friskies and Fancy Feast. Now there is a petfood recall and they turn out to be two of very few safe brands. Go figure.

Reminds me of the old saying - no matter what you do to stay healthy, you may still get hit by a bus one day ;-)

I would absolutely get that cat to a vet for bloodwork, but I would not be playing with her diet, which is already reasonable. Let the vet decide if that should be altered.

Best of luck!

Answer 7

Change Cat food. Some are higher in fat then others Science Diet has diet cat food that may help. Also if the cat does not play take it to the vet. Cats need some exercise too to loose weight.

Answer 8

He needs to be tested for Hypothyroidism. This is a somehwat common condition in older cats - a simple bloodtest will confirm it. If it is indeed HT, a simple medication and a prescription food will help shed the extra pounds.

She can ask her Vet for a tranquilizer to calm the cat during the car ride.

Answer 9

There are weight control cat foods available. I've seen some that say they have 50% less fat.

Answer 10

I agree with the person who said it might be hypothyroidism becasue my cat had that and he was FAT even though he ate next to nothing. He also had kidney failure and died a month later. I was very sad to see him go. Take your cat to the vet to make sure please. The car ride shouldn't hurt him. Just put him in his carrier and go.